Sharanagati

Question: I’d like to ask you if you are for the first time in Bulgaria and were you able to visit some places in our country? And in this respect I’d like to ask you how do you feel the energy of our land, the energy of our people?

Swami Tirtha: Well, to the first part of your question – if this is the first time for me here, or not. I was just calculating… my spiritual master sent me here in Bulgaria in 1988 for the first time. How many years is that? Some 25 years, right? It’s quite a time.

Concerning the second part of your question, I feel fortunate enough to visit quite some places here in Bulgaria. Even since the first years I have seen that so many people are practicing yoga. I still have some friends, with whom we met on the first occasion of our first visit – at that time practicing and studying yoga; now teaching yoga. You know, times are changing, but yoga is permanent. And I share the feeling that yes, you have a background for spirituality, you have a sense for spiritual life. But the success also depends on you.

At the same time our national identity is not an eternal identity. On the relative platform it’s very important, because we are born here, we have to learn, we have to do something here; but ultimately we are all brothers and sisters. Because God is the supreme father, the origin of all – so, on that spiritual platform we all belong together. And then our different identities – national, local, professional, family, gender – these are on different levels. And we should perform nicely on all different levels.

I see and I have the impression that you are very warm-hearted. I also have the impression that here ladies are very strong. I hope men are also strong. But this emotional surcharge is a good start for this transition from the brain to the heart.

Rukmini: My question is how to make this transition between the head and the heart and how can we develop our heart? How can we help our mind to display its third capacity – feeling?

Swami Tirtha: The answer to all the questions starting with ‘how’ is ‘do your spiritual practice, chant more’. Because this is a very subtle change. But as soon as we start, it will start to happen also. Proper progress means that we acquire spiritual qualities. Or we can say we don’t acquire, but we help them to reveal again. Because we are fruits of the divine tree, so we share divine qualities, we have divine qualities, spiritual qualities. What we have to do is only to remove the curtain of misconception, of illusion. And the more we are enlightened the sunshine can enter your system.

So ‘how to…’? Go on practicing. You will find.